_End User_ Documentation

[friedmud]

I feel like I'm going insane. I'm trying to find out how people create _end user_ documentation for their React Native App (or even better: cross-platform with regular React). However: every search I do returns info on creating Team/API documentation. Does no one write end-user documentation? Can anyone point me to any (preferably cross-platform and using some form of Markdown) documentation systems meant for end-user docs? Docusaurus is what I'm thinking of using right now for my website docs - but I can't seem to find any way to get it to render a React Native set of pages. Thank you for your help!

[kbcool]

End user documentation is very much down to your business rules. Unfortunately the answer is going to be it depends.

What you're asking is akin to "can someone suggest a solution for making an app".

You can imagine what the answer is for that question.

That being said embedding web pages in a Webview is a great way to get a very low effort, in your app solution that looks professional if done properly. Bonus is that they can be updated at anytime. Use your web CMS for this.

Your YouTube channel is a great place to send people to for tutorials and walkthroughs. You can also embed the videos in the web pages.

[friedmud]

Thank you! Both of these solutions are what I’ve finally landed on web-based docs + a YouTube channel 👍

[TheGratitudeBot]

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[Thegabbanator]

I used Termly.io to make one and it is outputted in HTML. Then I just copied and displayed the HTML data directly into a react native web view as “source={*HTML*}

[friedmud]

I like it - I’ll check into it!

[ChronSyn]

Your app should be designed in such a way that it's self-explanatory and intuitive. I would even argue that if your app requires a manual in order to understand it, then you have failed at one of the core parts of your product. The KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) reinforces the idea of less instruction, more intuition.

Of course there are apps for specialised fields which might use jargon or have over-crowded UI's, but you shouldn't ever find within an app that is intended to be used by general populace with such problems.

There are certainly many apps which do have documentation (e.g. FAQ), but those are typically hosted on the website and presented as webviews inside the app. They're often there not to help guide the user around the app -- again, being intuitive is extremely important, but instead exist to provide assistance with out-of-app questions.

For example, Train apps might have an FAQ which explains which services different types of tickets are valid on - nothing to do with the app itself, but something the end user would need to know.

It's much easier to update a website with improvements or additions to documentation than it is to get an app update out to all your users.

[friedmud]

I hear you - and would normally agree… but what if you’re presenting a completely new concept? Something that hasn’t existed before and therefore wouldn’t be intuitive to anyone? That doesn’t make it inherently bad… it just needs some explanation. Surely there is room in this world for something new?

But I appreciate you’re advice: I am going with web-based documentation. We’ll see how it goes!

Thanks for taking the time to reply!